Stay up to date:Get a free personalized pregnancy and baby newsletter from What to Expect.com

Get your free personalized pregnancy and baby newsletter

or

I'm trying to conceive

I don’t live in the U.S.

First Time Mom

By clicking "SIGN UP," you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We will use your information to send you our newsletters, coupons and special offers, and we share your information with our partners

THANKS FOR SIGNING UP!

Tanning Mom Patricia Krentcil is Now Tan Free

by Virginia Williams on August 03, 2012

Virginia Williams

About the Author

Virginia Williams is mom to a tween girl and a six-year-old boy. Her writing has appeared online and in print, including at rkvry.com, Mid-Atlantic Country, We Need Not Walk Alone and Prima magazines, among others. Her essay "What No One Tells You" was included in the anthology "They Were Still Born: Personal Stories About Stillbirth". When not writing or parenting, she can be found attempting to knit, drinking too much coffee, and devouring chocolate.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

Patricia Krentcil, the infamous "tanning mom" who made headlines in May when she was accused of taking her 6-year-old daughter into a tanning booth, was challenged by In Touch magazine to stop her habit for one month. Krentcil took on the challenge and, as a result, is now sporting a much healthier, more normal, look.

Krentcil made news this spring when she was charged with allowing her daughter to step into a tanning booth during one of her regular, 5 times a week, sessions. Many people were shocked less by the accusations than by Krentcil's appearance: tanned to an unhealthy dark brown, many described her look as unnaturally leathery and most definitely aging. Psychologists commented that Krentcil was "tanorexic" (addicted to tanning in an unhealthy way), and her appearance certainly seemed to prove that.

The mom claims that she is done with hard-core tanning, though she plans on the occasional stint in a salon as well as continuing use of fake-tan lotions. I'm relieved to see this change of heart; this sends a far better message to Krentcil's daughter, and the many young (and not so young) women out there who still cling to the mentality that tan is better than pale. With skin cancer rates rising, I find it hard to believe that anyone still wants to worship the sun so excessively, but maybe I'm in the minority. Having a family history of skin cancer as well as being a rather pale, blue-eyed blonde means there's never been any hope of me achieving any color other than lily white or bright red. Plus, seeing older women who now look older than their years because of a youth spent baking themselves to brown, I say, "Nope. Not for me."

While the "tanning mom" says she's done with hard-core tanning, she admits she feels "weird and pale."

Are you a sun worshipper, a sunscreen addict or somewhere in between? Let us know in the comments below!